FACULTY OF SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY

Submitted by: ANIEFIOK EMMANUEL

Matric No.:.178861016

Course Code: GEY 204

Course Title: INVERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY

QUESTION: 1. WHAT IS FACIES

2. WRITE A COMPRENHENSIVE ESSAY ON MASS EXTINCTION

LECTURER IN CHARGE:

DR. HENRY MADUKWE

WHAT IS FACIES

In geology, a facies is a body of rock with specified characteristics, which can be any observable
attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formation), and
the changes that may occur in those attributes over a geographic area. It is the sum total
characteristics of a rock including its chemical, physical, and biological features that
distinguishes it from adjacent rock.

The term facies was introduced by the Swiss geologist Amanz Gressly in 1838 and was part of
his significant contribution to the foundations of modern stratigraphy, which replaced the earlier
notions of Neptunism.

Sedimentary Facies

Ideally, a sedimentary facies is a distinctive rock unit that forms under certain conditions

of sedimentation, reflecting a particular process or environment. Sedimentary facies are either
descriptive or interpretative. Sedimentary facies are bodies of sediment that are recognizably
distinct from adjacent sediments that resulted from different depositional environments.
Generally, geologists distinguish facies by the aspect of the rock or sediment being studied.
[citation needed] Facies based on petrologicalcharacters (such as grain size and mineralogy) are
called lithofacies, whereas facies based on fossil content are called biofacies.

A facies is usually further subdivided, for example, one might refer to a "tan, cross-
bedded oolitic limestone facies" or a "shalefacies". The characteristics of the rock unit come
from the depositional environment and from the original composition. Sedimentary facies
reflect their depositional environment, each facies being a distinct kind of sediment for that area
or environment.

Since its inception in 1838, the facies concept has been extended to related geological concepts.
For example, characteristic associations of organic microfossils, and particulate organic material,
in rocks or sediments, are called palynofacies. Discrete seismic units are similarly referred to as
seismic facies.

Sedimentary facies are described in a group of "facies descriptors" which must be distinct,
reproducible and exhaustive. A reliable facies description of an outcrop in the field would
include: composition, texture, sedimentary structure(s), bedding geometry, nature of bedding
contact, fossil content and colour.

Walther's Law of Facies

Stratigraphic column on the north shore of Isfjord in Svalbard Norway. The vertical succession

of rock types (representing sedimentary facies) reflects lateral changes in paleoenvironment.

Walther's Law of Facies, or simply Walther's Law, named after the geologist Johannes
Walther (1860-1937), states that the vertical succession of facies reflects lateral changes in
environment. Conversely, it states that when a depositional environment "migrates" laterally,
sediments of one depositional environment come to lie on top of another. In Russia the law is
known as Golovkinsky-Walther's Law, honoring also Nikolai A. Golovkinsky (1834-1897). A
classic example of this law is the vertical stratigraphic succession that typifies
marine transgressions and regressions.

Metamorphic facies[edit]

Main article: Metamorphic facies

The sequence of minerals that develop during progressive metamorphism (that is, metamorphism

at progressively higher temperatures and/or pressures) define a facies series.

Seismic facies

Seismic facies are mappable three-dimensional seismic units composed of reflection units whose
parameters differ from adjacent facies units.
 COMPREHENSIVE ESSAY ON MASS EXTINCTION

The History, Origins, and Causes of Mass Extinctions

The history, origins, and causes of mass extinctions, from the creation of our planet to modern
times, are detailed. Mass extinctions during the Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and
Cretaceous are reviewed, and evidence for mass extinctions prior to and during the Cambrian
Explosion are summarized, i.e. the Paleoproterozoic (2.3 to 1.8 bya), the Sturtian (725 mya to
670 mya), the Marinoan/Gaskiers (640 to 580 mya), and the Ediacaran extinctions.
Catastrophic conditions which are associated with mass extinctions are also detailed, i.e.
global cooling and warming, major glaciation, fluctuations in sea level, global anoxia, volcanic
eruptions, asteroid impacts, plate tectonics, gamma rays, and disease.

1. INTRODUCTION: In the history of our planet there have been at least five major mass
extinctions, and a number of minor extinctions (Elewa 2008a,b,c; Raup 1992; Raup and
Sepkoski, 1982). These include the Ordovician Mass Extinction, the Devonian, Permian,
Triassic, and Cretaceous Mass Extinction. In addition to the big five, some scientists believe
there have been additional major mass extinctions, including as many as 4 extinctions during
Cambrian era. According to Joseph (2009a,b) these additional extinction events include the
Paleoproterozoic (2.3 to 1.8 bya), the Sturtian (725 mya to 670 mya), the Marinoan/Gaskiers
(640 to 580 mya), and the Ediacaran extinctions (540 mya).

Many scientists also believe we are now experiencing a sixth mass extinction, which is driven by
Homo sapiens (Crutzen and Stoermer 2000; Elewa 2008a; Jones 2009; Ruddimann 2005;
Steffen et al. 2007). There is considerable evidence that extinction has been accelerating over
the last 500 years; and with the advent of weapons of mass destruction, and industrial
poisons, pharmaceuticals, and other wastes which are dumped into the oceans and
atmosphere (Levy and Sidel 2009; McKee 2009, Tonn 2009); , it could be said the human race is
flirting with self-destruction and may trigger a world-wide mass extinction which could wipe
humanity from the face of the Earth (Jones 2009). Typically, numerous species may die off
simultaneously, resulting in a mass extinction, or a few individual species may die out in
isolation leaving the vast majority unscathed. Extinction is so common that it can be
considered an integral and perhaps an essential feature of life on Earth (Bradshaw and Brook
2009; Elewa 2008a,b,c; Ward 2009). According to Prothero (1998) of the 5 to 50 billion species
which have ever lived on this planet, only about fifty million are alive today. This means that
99.9% of all species that have ever lived are now extinct! In the future, will humans number
among the exceptions?

However, the vast majority of these extinction events may have been of just a few species
(Elewa 2008a,b,c). Mass extinctions may account for less than 5% of all species which have
become extinct (Erwin 2001) .

2. Evolutionary Apoptosis and the Gai, Medea, Cronus Hypotheses: There are several
competing explanations for why certain species become eradicated and for what causes mass
extinctions. In what could be described as the battle of the metaphors (Glickson 2009): the
Medea hypothesis (Ward 2009) and the Cronus hypothesis (Bradshaw and Brook 2009)
focus on biological self-destruction, whereas the Gaia hypothesis (Lovelock and Margoulis,
1974) presents the Earth and life itself as an interacting organism which has the potential to live
and grow, or die. Ward (2009) theorizes the mass extinctions of species is in part driven by life
itself, and the interaction of biological processes forces species self-destruction. Bradshaw
and Brook (2009) see mass extinctions as a natural consequence of the “ebb and flow of life on
Earth along a thermodynamic spectrum” and that “the causes of extinction can be thought
of as equivalent to the different processes that lead to individual deaths within a population"
albeit in the context of Darwinian natural selection. In what could be considered an
integration of the Ward, Bradshaw, Brook, Lovelock, Magoulis hypotheses, Joseph (2009a,b)
argues that the individual demise of a single species, and in some instances, mass species
extinctions, are sometimes a consequence of genetically guided biological activity with "genes
acting on the environment and the changing environment acting on gene selection;"
interactions which result in cell and species death and the loss vs gain of genes which
corresponds with the extinction of previous species and the evolution of new species which
emerge from the old. Joseph (2000, 2009b) describes extinction as related to the same
genetic mechanisms involved inembryogenesis and metamorphosis, where billions of cells die
and others take their place, and where species shed one body, which dies, and replace it with
another. Therefore, just as cells undergo programmed cell death during embryogenesis and
metamorphosis, enabling, for example, a tadpole to shed its fish-like body to become a frog, or a
crawling insect to destroy most of its body and then undergo a dramatic transformation to
become a flying insect, that many species serve as genetic bridge to a subsequent species and
die out after having served a biological purpose such as by altering the environment through the
secretion of calcium or the excretion of oxygen. According to Joseph (2009b), extinction is
sometimes a form of evolutionary apoptosis and is under genetic-environmental regulatory
control. "As a form of evolutionary apoptosis, extinction is in part a direct consequence
of the same cellular mechanisms which lead to cell death; albeit at the level of an entire
species."

3. Natural Selection, Catastrophes, and Bad Luck: The Causes of Extinction Traditional
explanations typically do not take genetic or cellular mechanisms into account, and instead
rely on Darwinian mechanisms emphasizing the survival of the fit and natural selection
(Elewa 2008a,b,c). Therefore, changing environmental conditions, predation, disease, and so on,
weed out the weak in favor of the strong. However, as pointed out by Raup (1992) natural
selection often has little to do with the outcome, for in many instances, survival vs
extinction is a matter of luck. Be it luck, natural selection, or evolutionary- apoptosis, there is
general agreement that the following factors have at one time or another played a central role in
the extinction of species:

Global Cooling and

Warming Major
glaciation
Fluctuations in Sea Level
Global Anoxia
Volcanic Eruptions
Asteroid, Comets, and Meteor impacts
Plate Tectonics
Gamma Rays
Disease
These factors, often in combination with other forces, can be linked to almost every major
extinction event which has brought mass death to this planet; except, perhaps the
hypothetical extinction event which some believe brought life to Earth. Each of these factors, and
the history or mass extinctions, will be briefly detailed in the following sections.
4. The First Mass Extinction: Snow Ball Earth. Most scientists do not view the mass extinction
of microbial life as of sufficient significance to be counted among the great extinction events
which have taken place on Earth. Yet, the events surrounded the first mass extinction may have
doomed billions of life forms to an early death during the Archaean era and its frigid aftermath
(Joseph 2009a,b). The Archaean era began with a 600 my episode of global warming associated
with high level of methane and carbon dioxide and a greenhouse effect. This was followed by a
rise in oxygen, a reduction in methane, and global freezing (2.3 bya) and then a rise in methane
and a global meltdown (1.8 bya) as our planet again began to warm (Barleya et al. 2005; Brocks
et al. 2005; Buick 2008; Canfield 2005; Holland 2006; Nisbett and Nisbett 2008; Olson 2006).

Therefore, numerous species were likely driven to extinction by these global climatic extremes
(Joseph 2009a,b). Central to this first mass extinction was the first global ice age, known as the

Paleoproterozoic "Great Oxidation Event" and the first "snow ball Earth." The surface of the
entire planet is believed to have been nearly frozen solid, beginning around 2.3 bya
(Kasting and Ono, 2006; Kirschvink, et al. 2000), killing off all prokaryotes and eukaryotes who
were not adapted to freezing temperatures, low levels of methane, and the presence of increased
oxygen. However, since all life at this time was microscopic, and as eukaryotes arebelieved to
have consisted of less than 2 cell types (Hedges et al. 2004), most scientists do not rank the
death of these species as worthy of a "mass extinction" designation. Nevertheless, the
Paleoproterozoic extinction should be counted as among the great extinction events.

5. The Second Snow Ball Earth. The first "Snow Ball Earth" may have been primarily the
result of biological activity and the release and breakdown of various gasses which affected the
climate (Joseph 2009a,b). The second Snow Ball Earth appears to have had multiple causes, with
consequences which may have been even more deadly, impacting a wider and more complex
variety of life. By 1.5 BYA, eukaryotes consisted of approximately 10 cell types (Hedges et al.
2004). Between 1.6 to 1.2 bya a varied assemblage of complex multi- cellular eukaryotes
diverged and proliferated, including green and red algae, dinoflagellates, ciliates, amoebae, and a
diverse array of unornamented organic- walled acritarchs (Butterfield 2000; Porter and Knoll
2000; Wang et al. 1999; Xiao and Knoll, 1999; Zhou et al. 2001).

6. The Third Snow Ball Earth. Between 640 to 580 mya, the planet underwent yet another global
ice age, the "Marinoan" (Bowring et al. 2003; Condon et al. 2005; Hoffmann et al. 1998, 2004;
Hyde et al. 2000) followed by a less extreme period of cooling referred to as Gaskiers, which
came to a close around 580 Ma (Eyles & Eyles 1989), These global ice ages were likely
triggered by a combination of oxygen buildup and the spewing of volcanic ash into the
atmosphere (Condon et al. 2005). Innumerable creatures died and many species became
extinct during the Marinoan glaciation (Joseph 2009a). However, as these life forms were
microscopic, the number which perished is unknown. This mass loss of life

could best be described as the Marinoan/Gaskiers extinction.

7. The Ediacaran Mass Extinction Following the close of the Marinoan/Gaskiers glaciation and
the warming of the planet, an explosion of life ensued (Condon et al. 2005; Peterson and
Butterfield 2005) including the evolution of megascopic Ediacarans (Narbonne 2005; Narbonne
and Gehling 2003). However, by 540 mya, and the onset of the Cambrian Era, the Ediacaran age
would come to a close and the Ediacaran would become extinct. Joseph (2009b) argues that
the Ediacaran extinction, the Marinoan/Gaskiers extinction, the Sturtian extinction, and the
Paleoproterozoic extinction, are examples of biologically induced and genetically controlled
evolutionary apoptosis; and that these species were "shed from the tree of life" after having
served an evolutionary bridge to subsequent species including those which flourished during the
Cambrian Explosion.

8. The Cambrian Extinction Explosion Beginning around 540 mya and within 5 my to 10 million
years there was an explosion of life and over 32 phyla suddenly evolved many with the body
plans seen in modern animals (Budd and Jensen 2000; Fortey et al. 1997; Conway and Morris
2000; Peterson and Butterfield 2005; Valentine et al. 1999). Many of these creatures were very
complex and bizarre in appearance and immediately died out (Cloud 1948; Mooi and Bruno
1999; Whittington 1979) and therefore may represent phyla that became extinct. Others
propose that some of these species actually served as the stem groups of the extant phyla, (Budd
& Jensen 2000).

9. The Ordovician Extinction: The Ordovician era lasted from 510 to 440 mya, and ended with
yet another mass extinction, the second most devastating (in terms of animal life) in the history
of our planet. Over one hundred families of marine invertebrates perished and others
were driven to near extinction during a two-pulse extinction episode (Sheehan 2001). The
victims included nearly half of all brachiopod and bryozoan families, as well as conodonts
and graptolites and many species of reef builders (Brenchley et al. 2001).

Like so many other mass extinctions, the primary cause is believed to be global cooling and
glaciation. However, rather than having a biological source, contributing factors included
plate tectonics and continental drift; i.e. the passage of the giant supercontinent, Gondwana,
over the north pole (Brenchley et al. 2001). The Earth froze, sea levels dropped, shorelines
disappeared, and so did numerous species (Sheehan 2001).

10. The Devonian Extinction: The Devonian age (410 mya to 360 mya) is marked by the
evolution of bony fish who were evolving lungs and legs, as well as amphibians, insects, and a
new generation of reef builders.

The Devonian age also ended with yet another mass extinction, and over 70%

of all taxes disappeared including most reef builders, i.e. stromatoporoids, and

the rugose, and tabulate corals (Raup 1992). Like the mass extinctions of the past, the Devonian
extinction event has also been attributed to a global ice age, perhaps triggered by bolide
impact (Joachimski and Buggisch 2002). The consequences were a complete restructuring
of many components of the marine ecosystem.

11. The Permian Extinction: The Permian era ranged from 290 mya to 248 mya, and ended
with yet another spectacular mass extinction; the most devastating mass extinction in the history
of our planet. Amphibians, reptiles, and repto-mammals were impacted. Nearly 95% of all
species of marine animal were nearly destroyed (Raup 1992). Numerous theories abound as to
the causes, which may have been multiple. These include bolide impact, volcanic eruptions
(Benton and Twitchett 2003), and glaciation followed by global warming (Kidder and Worsley
2004).

12. The Triassic Extinction: The Triassic period extends from about 250 to 200 Ma and is
marked by the evolution of the mammal-like the rapsids, the first flying vertebrates, the
pterosaurs, and the concentration of all the world's land masses into one supercontinent,
Pangaea, located in the temperate and tropical regions of Earth. The Triassic-Pangaean climate is
believed to have been generally hot and dry. The closing of the Triassic was slammed shut by yet
another mass extinction which killed off 22% of marine families and possibly about half of
marine genera and most marine reptiles except ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs (Tanner et al. 2004).
Some studies suggest there may have been at least two periods of extinction perhaps 12 million
years apart.

13. The Cretaceous Extinction

The Cretaceous period began around 135 mya and came to a sudden and catastrophic
end, 65 mya. Although the Cretaceous Extinction is associated with elimination of the
dinosaurs, there are estimates that up to 85% of all species were nearly destroyed by what
has been called the KT (Cretaceous/Tertiary) extinction event (Raup 1992). The victims
included a variety of plants, marine reptiles, diatoms, dinofla gellates, and nannoplankton. Two
major catastrophes may have caused K/T extinction: asteroid impact and

volcanic eruptions. For example sediment dated to the extinction event contains unusually high
concentrations of Iridium, shocked quartz, and basalt, all of which are associated with
meteor impact (Alvarez 2008). Iridium has two major sources: the earth's mantle, and
meteors and asteroids. Therefore, the widespread distribution of Iridium, the presence of
shocked quartz which is indicative of high pressure of impact, coupled with small droplets of
basalt which usually result when the Earth's crust has been melted, indicate the Earth was struck
by an asteroid, probably in the area which today is known as Yucatan Peninsula of
Mexico (Alvarez 2008).

14. Disease: Species-destroying-diseases induced by bacteria, fungi, and viruses (Casadevall

2005; Devaraj 2000; Emiliani 1993; Gong et al. 2008; Poinar and Poinar 2008), can act
selectively to kill one species while preserving others. For example, alterations in the host-
genome or the genome of the pathogen, enable pathogens to selectively target and kill off a
specific host long after it has evolved (Flint et al. 2009; Norkin 2009; Joseph 2009a). Not
uncommonly, diseases which have extinction-potential, are transmitted vertically, from
genome to genome (Engelstädter and Hurst 2007) and will selectively sicken or kill
specific species in response to as yet unknown biological and environmental triggers. Male-
killing bacteria, for example, can hitchhike over thousands of generations, from mother to
offspring, embedded within the mitochondrial genome (Jiggins 2003) and may begin
destroying a species only after a related species has evolved. Genes which encode for
retroviruses can be passed down for millions of years, embedded in the eukaryotic nuclear
genome, and when expressed not only promote speciation and the evolution of new species but
simultaneously eradicate others.

15. Global Cooling and Glaciation: Prior to the onset of the Cambrian Explosion, the Earth had
already suffered 4 major ice ages. The Ordovician marked the fifth global ice age and
innumerable life forms and species died out and suffered total extinction.
A cold planet is not the same as a frozen planet. Nevertheless, a variety of scientists have
proposed that global cooling also contributed to the major mass extinctions during the Late
Ordovician, the Late Devonian, Late Permian, Late Triassic, and the Late Cretaceous. These
authors suppose that global cooling triggered glaciation and significant lowering of the sea level.
Therefore deep marine organisms as well as organisms favoring warm conditions died.

16. Sea Levels, Glaciation & Global Warming: Glaciation binds water and lowers sea levels.
By contrast, global warming can cause sea levels to markedly rise as glaciers melt and melt
water returns to the sea. Global warming, the end of an ice age, and even bolide impact, can
effect water levels and trigger flood basalts and mass extinctions (Alvarez 2003).

The history of the Earth includes a history of temperature extremes, from the hot Hadean era to
the warm Archaean age, to the first snow ball Earth, 2.4 billion years ago, and with the
warm/cold/warm cycle repeating yet again with global ice ages 750 mya, and again 640 mya,
and again 590 mya, with a period of warmth continuing throughout the Cambrian era (Joseph
2009ab). Naturally, life adapted to a warm environment and high sea levels may be
driven to near extinction during prolonged periods of global glaciation and a lowering of the
water table, with many species dying out and yet others recovering and new species
emerging (Elewa 2008a,b,c). The pattern would repeat itself with the melting of the glaciers and
subsequent warming of the planet.

17. Gamma-Rays: Gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation of high frequency and are
believed to be released during a supernova event as the star rapidly collapses to form a black
hole. Yet others may result from the merger of binary neutron stars. A 10 second Gamma-ray
bursts contains more energy than the Sun will emit during its entire lifetime! They are
extremely dangerous as they have the shortest wavelength of all waves in the electromagnetic
spectrum, and consist of highly penetrating, highly energetic ionizing radiation which can
easily penetrate clothes, skin, bone, cells and DNA, destroying DNA and cell alike (Melott et

al. 2004). It has been estimated that the Earth has been struck by gamma rays between 8 to 10
times in its 4.6 billion year history. Gamma rays, therefore may be responsible for several
of the mass extinctions which have plagued this planet. Melott and colleagues (2004) have
proposed, for example, that the late Ordovician mass extinction, approximately 440 million
years ago, may be at least partly the result of a gamma ray burst which may have caused a severe
depletion of the ozone layer, thereby also allowing elevated levels of UV radiation to
strike the planet. Gamma rays could easily cause mass death and mass extinctions

18. Global Anoxia: It is believed that significant reductions in oxygen leading to global anoxia
may be one of the decisive causes of Devonian mass extinction. According to Wignall and
Twitchett (1996) the world's oceans became anoxic at both low and high paleolatitudes in the
Late Permian and may have been responsible for the mass extinction at that time. Samar Abbas
and colleagues (2000) argues that the evidence quite convincingly indicates that the Late
Permian biotic crisis was in fact a binary extinction and both were linked to low oxygen levels
and anoxia.

19. Volcanic Eruptions Some scientists consider volcanism as one of the most important
causes of mass extinctions in the fossil record (Courtillot 1999; MacLeod, 2000, 2001).

Ash and dust resulting from these eruptions would block sunlight causing a drop in temperature,
both of which, in combination, would kill most plants and many species. There is also evidence
suggesting that volcanism can contribute to global anoxia (Glickson 2009). Some scientists have
argued that volcanic activity was the prime cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. For
example, iridium is common in rocks from deep within the Earth. This has led to the
suggestion that the presence of iridium in the dinosaurs-bearing beds is due to volcanic
eruptions, and this is what drove the dinosaurs to extinction.

Norman MacLeod (2000, 2001) has emphasized tectonic factors - giving rise to flood-basalt
volcanism and causing sea-levels to fall - as a major factor in large-scale extinction events
over the course of the last 600 million years. Widespread volcanic eruptions, therefore, can be
secondary to global tectonic movement. They are also linked to asteroid impact.

20. Asteroid Impact: Alvarez et al. (1980) have provided convincing evidence indicating
that asteroid impacts are a major factor in some mass extinction events including the ‘death of
the dinosaurs.’ Further, as summarized by Alvarez et al. (1980): "impact of a large earth-
crossing asteroid would inject about 60 times the object's mass into the atmosphere as
pulverized rock; a fraction of this dust would stay in the stratosphere for several years and be
distributed worldwide. The resulting darkness would suppress photosynthesis, and the
expected biological consequences match quite closely the extinctions observed in the
paleontological record" (see also Thompson and Crutzen 1988). Yet another impact, 12.9 mya,
may have led to the extinction of the mammoths and other megafauna and the abrupt
environmental changes that contributed to Younger Dryas (YD) cooling and the demise of the
Clovis culture of North America (Firestone 2009; Firestone et al. 2007). According to Firestone
(2009) and others, a comet exploded over North America, melting the Lauren tide, glaciers
of Canada some of which acted as natural ice barrier which had dammed up a giant
inland sea and a thousand mile wide lake of melt water which scientists today call Lake Agassiz.
When the glaciers and this natural ice dam melted and broke apart, the huge inland sea rushed
into the North Atlantic shutting down the ocean's natural heating/cooling cycle and
triggering an instant ice age, tsunamis and an avalanche of water causing sea levels to rise
(Firestone 2009). object's mass into the atmosphere as pulverized rock; a fraction of this dust
would stay in the stratosphere for several years and be distributed worldwide. The resulting
darkness would suppress photosynthesis, and the expected biological consequences match
quite closely the extinctions observed in the paleontological record" (see also Thompson and
Crutzen 1988). Yet another impact, 12.9 mya, may have led to the extinction of the mammoths
and other megafauna and the abrupt environmental changes that contributed to Younger Dryas
(YD) cooling and the demise of the Clovis culture of North America (Firestone 2009; Firestone
et al. 2007). According to Firestone (2009) and others, a comet exploded over North
America, melting the Laurentide glaciers of Canada some of which acted as natural ice
barrier which had dammed up a giant inland sea and a thousand mile wide lake of meltwater
which scientists today call Lake Agassiz. When the glaciers and this natural ice dam melted and
broke apart, the huge inland sea rushed into the North Atlantic shutting down the ocean's
natural heating/cooling cycle and triggering an instant ice age, tsunamis and an avalanche of
water causing sea levels to rise (Firestone 2009).

Like volcanic eruptions, impact by a sufficiently large asteroid or comet would eject massive
amounts of debris into the atmosphere. Sunlight would be blocked, temperatures would
drop, plants and animals would freeze and die (Thompson and Crutzen 1988). Therefore, in
cases of collision involving the Earth and an asteroid or comet, the resulting impact is just
one of the contributing causes of the resulting mass extinction event which are often due to
multiple factors (see Molina et al. 1996; Twitchett 2006; Elewa, 2008a,b; Elewa and Dakrory
2008a), including stratospheric ozone depletion, nitric acid formation, anoxia, fire, and
destruction of the food chain; interlinked events and a multi-causal scenario which can lead to
the abrupt extinction of some species and the slow death of yet others(Arens and West
2008; Elewa and Dakrory 2008b).

21. Current mass extinction: Are we going towards a sixth mass extinction? Many
prominent scientists answer this question with a "yes" and point to human activities as
responsible (Crutzen and Stoermer 2000; Elewa 2008c; Ruddimann 2005; Steffen et al. 2007;
Wilcove et al. 1998). It has been argued that species are programmed to die out, and that some
forms of extinction are due to genetically controlled evolutionary-apoptosis, where species are
"pruned" from the tree of life after serving some biological purposes or acting as a bridge to a
subsequent species. Cell and species death are a normal part of life and integral to evolution,
such that all organisms contain the genetic seeds of their own self-destruction. Are humans
genetically programmed to self-destruct? Humans are biological organisms and we have created
poisons, wastes, and weapons of mass destruction which can destroy much of animal life on this
planet. Perhaps, we too, despite all our wisdom, have sown the seeds for not only the sixth mass
extinction, but the eradication of humans from the face of the Earth.

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